Conan the Barbarian

Announced back in 2012, after Arnold Schwarzenegger finished his run as Governor of California, was The Legend of Conan; the film was meant to follow up the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian (directed by John Milius) and largely ignore Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 reboot. While Arnold has gone on to revitalize his film career by appearing in numerous movies in the four years since, Legend was only reconfirmed, claiming production would begin in the fall of 2015. That didn’t happen; however, the film certainly is still in the works, and one of the writers went on to confirm some details. (more…)

Since returning to acting after his two terms as California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s had his share of hits and misses. Despite being nearly 68 years old, he’s still the epitome of tough, while at the same time he’s still willing to take chances, as evidenced by his recent turn in the zombie drama Maggie. As Arnold is about to be seen again everywhere in one of his most iconic roles, that of the Terminator in Terminator: Genisys, talk turns again to the possibility of taking on another of his iconic roles again, Conan. Schwarzenegger last appeared as the creation of Robert E. Howard, and artist Frank Frazetta in 1984’s Conan the Destroyer, but there’s long been talk about a reprise. And naturally, there’s now more talk courtesy of the man writing the screenplay for The Legend of Conan. (more…)

Hello Nostalgia! Because someone, somewhere, might possibly want to see it, it seems like a third Conanmovie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger may still come to fruition. A sudden update the other day reports that the script is almost complete, and with fingers crossed and hopes high, the film itself could begin shooting as early as next year. The only thing standing in the production’s way? Studio approval. But the producer thinks that this will become a reality, and he seems to be already stoking the hype machine to make it so. (more…)

There’s new reports making the rounds on the Internet that Marvel may have found their choice for Drax in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Earlier this week the word was that Isaiah Mustafa, Dave Batista , and Brian Patrick pictured below were testing for the role.

The latest word is that Jason Momoa (Conan, Game of Thrones, Stargate Atlantis) was brought in to read for the role in London on Wednesday and the test went so well that Marvel offered him the part. Moma’s representation is now in the process of working out the details with Marvel as negotiations progress.

I’m of mixed opinion on this casting news. I loved Momoa in Game of Thrones and Stargate Atlantis, but was disappointed with his take on Conan, very disappointed. That might work though, Drax is part of a group, much like the roles Momoa played in Game and Stargate. In his role as Conan, Momoa had to carry the movie, perhaps he just isn’t ready to carry a movie on those broad shoulders yet.

What do you think about this casting news? Was there someone else you were excited about for the part? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

While making the publicity press rounds for his latest movie The Last Stand,Arnold Schwarzenegger discussed the soon to start production movie The Legend Of Conan. Fans will be glad to hear that the movie will ignore Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 Jason MomaConan, instead placing itself as a direct sequel to the original 1982 Conan The Barbarian. The story was conceived and most likely will be written by Chris Morgan (Fast Five) as long as any other previous commitments (Fast and Furious 7) don’t get in the way.

“Let me just say that a lot of it has to do with timing. That’s what show business and politics have in common. It’s a lot of it is timing, and I think that I would’ve chosen to do Conan already if it would’ve been ready, but the Universal studio just bought the rights to Conan, they have an executive over there that happens to be a big believer in bringing back that character, and Universal was the first one to do the movie with Dino DeLaurentiis, and now they want to be back and do a bunch of Conan movies, but do it high-quality, not as a B-movie, to do it high-quality like the first one was John Milius directed and Dino DeLaurentiis produced and Universal has presented. So they want to go back to that. So that will be ready by sometime this year.”

The Legend Of Conan is shooting for a late 2014 release date. We’ll keep our eyes out for any new developments and bring them to you here.

I got chills the first time I saw the scene of an aged King Conan sitting on the throne, in the theater years ago and I pretty much get the same feeling every time I get caught up in the movie while surfing channels on a lazy weekend. It was the scene that my much younger nerdy self always wanted to see and now it is going to happen.

Universal Studios, producer Fredrik Malmberg of Paradox Entertainment (Holder of the Conan movie rights), and Chris Morgan (Writer of the last four Fast and Furious movies) are working toward getting the movie The Legend of Conan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, into theaters during the summer of 2014. Morgan will most likely take over the script writing chores for the movie which Malmberg describes as “Conan’s Unforgiven.”

The original ended with Arnold on the throne as a seasoned warrior, and this is the take of the film we will make. It’s that Nordic Viking mythic guy who has played the role of king, warrior, soldier and mercenary, and who has bedded more women than anyone, nearing the last cycle of his life. He knows he’ll be going to Valhalla, and wants to go out with a good battle…This movie picks up Conan where Arnold is now in his life, and we will be able to use the fact that he has aged in this story. I love the property of Conan so much that I wouldn’t touch it unless we came up with something worthy. We think this is a worthy successor to the original film. Think of this as Conan’s Unforgiven.

When asked about what rating the movie might be Malmberg said:

Will that level of violence be there? Absolutely, but only if it serves a character who lives by that barbarian law of the wild, who is capable of extreme violence and rage, but who has created his own code and operates from within it. By the end of that film, Conan became a certain character, and this film picks him up there, as he faces different challenges that include dealing with age.

I’m having trouble containing my nerdy exuberance about this announcement. I just hope they can really pull off a fantastic look at an aged Conan, weary of the duties of a king and yearning to return to simpler times of mayhem and battle. One of my favorite comic book runs was King Conan. If you are interested in the character it is a great read.

Admittedly, I have a huge man-crush on actor Michael Fassbender. He charmed the shit out of me with his portrayal as Magneto in X-Men:First Class. He’s been consistently good in all his recent flicks too (The Dangerous Method, Shame). He’s a brilliant actor who’s got the “IT” factor, whatever “IT” is. So, now comes the question…would I like a shirtless Michael Fassbender? I’m comfortable enough with my sexuality to say that my eyes wouldn’t mind. What can I say, he’s a pretty man.

Where am I going with this? I don’t really know. I’m exercising poor homoerotic undertones as a set up for some super hero casting news. So let’s get on with it then, shall we? According to Screen Daily, Fassbender will be playing the character Sláine in a upcoming adaptation of the 200AD comic.

Sláine? 200AD? What? Do you not not your Irish lore? *clears throat* The character of Sláine from the 2000AD comic was based in part on Conan The Barbarian, but drew his most direct influences from the Celtic hero of legend Cú Chulainn.

So, Fassbender will be playing him in a movie produced by his own McCool Films. Fassynating! Seriously, an Irish actor, playing an Irish character based on an Irish legend? Sounds good to me.

Every day the internet produces an astounding amount of goodies and gems. Most hilarious, some amusing, but all worth at least a few seconds of your time. We here at Nerd Bastards try to bring you the best bits of news and nerdery the webz has to offer, with a bit of snark thrown in. But sometimes not everything makes the cut.

Monday through Friday we’ll be bringing you our inbox leftovers, our forgotten bookmarks, the nerdy bits that simply slipped through the cracks. You can submit items to Nerdy Bits by emailing us at nerdybits@nerdbastards.com.

Yesterday we shared the amazing video of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commentary for Total Recall and I mentioned how the Conan the Barbarian commentary track was even more amazing. It is, and if you need the proof, here you go. (io9)

So you know that new Conan movie that stars the horse guy from HBO’s Game of Thrones? Yea… we enjoyed the shit out of it. No lie. We (or rather I, not sure how the other bastards feel) thought it was just as thrilling and fun as it was gory and violent. Guess I’m the only one to feel this way ’cause it… bombed. Badly. The flick cost 90+ million to make and only earned $10M opening weekend. Suffice to say, those numbers nearly meant the death of Lionsgate. They just have to limp along until March, when The Hunger Games comes out. Which we suspect will greatly fill those empty pockets.

So, Conan gets bludgeoned to the state of unconsciousness by poor box office numbers. Who’s there to kick him while he’s down? Well, Stan “The Man” Lee of course. His company ‘Stan Lee Media’ is reportedly suing the producers of the movie, claiming they still own the rights to the character and were obtained by Nu Image/Millennium Films illegally.

The lawsuit was filed in LA on August 19th, and states that the company’s bankruptcy should have stopped anyone else from purchasing the rights, especially as it’s claimed that a former lawyer for Lee’s company made an illegal deal for the rights to be transferred to Nu Image/Millennium Films, who produced the recent 3D flop. The transfer of Conan is rendered void because back in 2002, “the shares of Conan properties and all other assets of SLMI were part of a bankruptcy estate and protected from unauthorized transfer by the automatic bankruptcy stay.”

Basically, the lawsuit demands restoration of rights over the franchise and full movie profits.

OK, before we start rippin’ on old man Lee (who is busy slipping into senility) for inheriting an 80M debt, you should know ‘ Stan Lee Media’ isn’t being run by Stan Lee anymore. It’s a corporate shell of a company created by Lee that fell apart, which has since sued everyone from Stan Lee himself, Stan’s POW Entertainment, Marvel, Lee’s Wife, and Lee’s Daughter, in attempts to gain control of characters created by Lee.

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t much faith in this movie when it was first announced; the trailers didn’t particularly excite me either. Prior to viewing, I was decidedly against favoring this reboot because I hold such a high regard to the original 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger version. Arnie’s Conan offered more than gratuitous nudity, tons of violence and oiled musclemen, it was a philosophical epic. It’s a film of great resonance and subtlety. This NEW Conan, directed by Marcus Nispel, does not even come close to matching the grandeur and significance of the original, but I don’t think it was ever meant to. What we have here is an alternative Conan. One that stands on it’s own context and one that is arguably truer to the original Robert E. Howard novels. Much to my surprise, it’s a pulpy piece of action/adventure goodness.

The story is this; as Morgan Freeman tells us: Conan is a young Cimmerian man cast adrift in the world by the brutal murder of his father and the destruction of his village. Driven by the need to avenge himself upon the evil Khalar Zym, Conan learns to steal, seduce, and fight his way to his goals. He soon discovers, however, that there are greater things at stake than his own personal quest: an unearthly malevolence stalks the world, and it may be up to Conan himself to save Hyboria from ruin.

I’ve had a man crush on Jason Momoa since I first saw him as the horse ridin’ Khal Drogo in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Admittedly, my penis instantly inverts into a mangina when I see this man, who IMO is the embodiment of bad-assery. That latter assertion is certainly evident here. He’s lean, mean and he’s no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Momoa IS Conan the Barbarian. Rough, tough, gruff (goddamn I love rhyming) calculating and cool. Momoa embodies the barbarian and swashbuckling aspects of the character. A worthy successor to the Cimmerian’s throne.

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